Time before Time
by thesmalldelights
Summary: Time is eternal. Time is unstoppable. Time is inevitably and forever alone. This is a quick unedited drabble of an idea that had to get out of my head. May one day become part of a story. May not. I hope you guys enjoy.


He didn't know how he came to be. One day he just was. Only him and the clock. Or rather, only him. He was the clock and the clock was him. An unbreakable unity that layed the foundations for a coming world. Those days back then, were far more lonely than they are now. There was only emptiness of the vast cliffs and sea around him. The lightings were a welcome friend that cut through the darkness for a few moments next to the warm glow of the clock.

In the beginning, he didn't do much but wait on the grand clock. It was his, it was himself, and he put every possible effort into keeping it clean, polished and working without a single flaw. It was his duty and his life source. That was the only thing he knew for sure.

But as time passed by and by, he had to admit he grew bored of cleaning and watching. He watched creatures come alive in the dimention he controlled. He watched wars being waged, won or lost. He saw kingdoms fall and come to be. And he realised one thing while he was watching all these events. Usually nobody was ever alone. The sheer minimum was always at least 2. Sometimes the people stayed and sometimes the changed. But there was always a group of something or another. And so, he decided, he didn't want to be alone either. He would never admit that he might be lonely. That was... not him. He was time. He was invincible and unending and immeasurable. But... maybe.. a distraction. An experiment. And so, he created his first second. It was quite a small thing really. Barely anything. Just some feet, two orbs as eyes and a bare metal body, that could hide the delicate machinery within. With a breath of 'time' he gave his little machine life. Not unending, no, but it's time was long enough that he wouldn't have to wound it up every second or every minute.

He continued to watch the creatures below him. And he continued to imitate them after a while. Some things he made before them. Some things he found interesting and adopted from them. With his first second by his side, he started to build. He build more seconds, he built the walls surrounding his domain, he built treasured rooms that would keep the living safe and the dead at peace. But he was still alone with his automatons in a domain that without them remained lifeless.

It was rare, that he ever dared to leave his domain. He truly was busy. With the more creatures that started to populate Underland his work increased slowly but exponentially. He had to manage all their times, take proper care of them, take proper care of the clock and stay the overwatcher of all of time so that nobody changed it. It was not an easy task, but he did it well and religiously. But sometimes he couldn't resist. He couldn't resist the life that bloomed endlessly in Udnerland. He may have been even mildly jealous as a celestial being. They, who had all of life surrounding thim in vibrant colours and motions, didn't truly have the time to appreciate it. But he, the immortal being with all of time, was never free to enjoy the life. But that didn't mean he couldn't sneak away for a few minutes.

In his journeys he usually enjoyed the nature. The flowers with an almost overpowering scent and a fleeting beauty that he controlled. The trees cast a wonderful shade and the sunlight! Oh, how he loved the sunlight when it warmed his gears and he could bathe in it. But never for too long. Time flies and he was not about to lose track of it. He also sometimes snuck into the villages. Books were a high favourite of his. Such a delightful way to pass the time. Of course he loved to enjoy every second of himself, but that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy every second of a book with that.

And so life went on. LIfe became routine, like always. It was his. He controlled everything around him. He, was in his own restrictions and freedoms with the percision of a well tuned clock.

But then... there were the anomalies. He can't say he liked those. They disrupted time. They disrupted his strict routine. Usually, they asked for things that were in his control, but impossible for him to do. Change time, they said. Make it happen. You are time. HA! Fools. You cannot just change time. Time is and always will be but it should never be changed. Especially not in the ways they demanded. Bringing back a loved one? Imbeciles. Everyone only had a certain amount of ticks and tocks. There was no more. The fates decided that. He decided that. There was only what was given. And if time was changed then the foundation of the realm would be changed. No. He was immovable, unbreakable, unrelenting. He was time. Time was him. He never gave in to requests like that.

But loneliness persisted after they left. In a way, he did like to remember them here and there. Not as friends. Time was a friend to nobody. But they brought... life. LIfe into his routine that was dominated by his self made seconds, minutes and hours. By his own rigidness and precision of machinery. Indeed. Being eternal can be almost maddening. But he was time and time endures. Forever.

**Hi there. This is just a quick blurb that might appear later in a story. I recently dorked about again in Alice through the looking glass because I am reading the book and goddammit Time.. Time can look good and inspire so many ideas. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed. This is unedited, so that's why there's probably quite a few repeats and spelling mistakes but I just needed to get it out of my head. Back to studying now for exam-season :D (help)**


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